Other
by Sakura Hyuga
Summary: After a mission gone horribly wrong, Allen wakes up in an alternate universe where the Exorcists and the Noahs are close allies. However, instead of being his sixteen-year old self, he is now . . . a twelve-year old child whose adoptive father is Marian Cross? And wait . . . What's this about Kanda being his grouchy, over-protective older brother? Hold on a second, what? !
1. Chapter I: Then the boy fell asleep―

**Other**

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**Summary: **After a mission gone horribly wrong, Allen wakes up in an alternate universe where the Exorcists and the Noahs are close allies. However, instead of being his sixteen-year old self, he is now . . . a twelve-year old child whose adoptive father is Marian Cross? And wait . . . What's this about Kanda being his grouchy, over-protective older brother? Hold on a second, what?!

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**Disclaimer: DGM does not belong to me, no sirree!**

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**Chapter I: "Then the boy fell asleep―"**

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_._

_._

_._

_He was panting, but that was not something surprising__. Right now, Allen was _exhausted_._

_His aching feet slammed into the floor as they ran down the long hall with him leading the way. Sweat-drenched silver hair fell limply against his eyes _―_one normal and one cursed_― _as he willed his legs to go faster . . . just a tiny bit faster. But even his adrenaline could not completely block out his fear. The air was stifling with the smell of decaying flesh and the dull pain of his wounds pounded throughout his body._

. . . _But they had to keep going. They needed to go, they needed to_―

_A loud thump echoed into the air and Allen could vaguely make out some pained groans from his red-haired friend. He immediately slowed to a stop and whipped around, heart thundering in his chest. _

_This was no place to stop._

"_Lavi! Get up, we need to keep _moving―_"_

_A strong arm _―_injured though, Allen noted with a sharp pang_― _reached down to lift their fallen comrade. The teen's long hair was out of its usual ponytail, and was instead messily strewn around his shoulders. And although he looked relatively composed, Allen could still see the slight clench in his team-mate's jaw._

_Even Kanda was tired._

_Their final comrade slowed to a stop beside the samurai, panting harshly as she took the chance to try and regain some of her strength. Her legs were bleeding profusely, rivulets of blood flowing down like rivers and completely handicapping her Innocence's full potential._

_They were also shaking. Lenalee's legs were trembling like a leaf in the wind. Thus, it wasn't a surprise when __Lenalee dropped to her knees and swayed, a puddle of bright red gathering around her feet. Kanda immediately cursed as he knelt beside her, already looking strained from the addition of Lavi on his back._

_As if it hadn't been before, their situation now was obviously quite dire._

_Allen gritted his teeth and hurried over to his comrades. His vision wavered slightly at the sharp movement, and immediately Allen bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. No, he couldn't fall unconscious, not here or now. He couldn't leave Kanda by himself._

_Although it would for sure come back to bite him in the butt later _―_if there _was_ a later_― _Allen activated Crown Clown, his Innocence's white cowl immediately supporting him as he felt some of his pain fade away. Picking Lenalee up bridal style and ignoring her weak protests, Allen nodded at Kanda in an attempt to alleviate the shred of concern just barely visible in the older teen's eyes._

_Kanda scowled, readjusting his surprisingly gentle grip on Lavi as he began to run once more. Following suit, Allen quickly pulled ahead of him and Kanda obliged his unspoken request. After all, he was the one with the activated Innocence._

_By this point, they were all breathing heavily. Both Lenalee and Lavi were unconscious now, their wounds becoming too much for them to bear. Kanda's breathing was also becoming increasingly labored, and Allen was pretty sure that the added toll of Lavi was too much for him. He wouldn't be able to last long . . . not at their current pace. But going at their pace was their only chance of survival._

_. . . It was all so useless._

_Sure enough, it was only a measly ten minutes later when Allen stopped hearing the thundering footsteps behind him. With a deep breath to brace himself for the probably damning sight, Allen turned around._

_Kanda was on his knees, his face a pale ashen grey. Blood pooled around him, and Allen couldn't tell if it was all Kanda's or if Lavi's had also added to the bright red. But one thing was for sure; Kanda couldn't go on any further._

_Allen couldn't hold it against him, though. After all, out of the four of them, Kanda had been injured the worst. So it was already a miracle the teen had lasted as long as he did. _

_But even a miracle could not save them all now._

_Quickly hurrying over to the fallen samurai, Allen resisted the urge to cry. It was all over. Even if Allen could carry all three of them, he wouldn't be able to last long either. __At least, not nearly as long as they would have needed to escape._

_Allen knelt beside Kanda, his eyes straying to the older's pale face. Kanda stared back firmly, mouth in a tight grimace and his eyes dark and unreadable._

_And then Allen's cursed eye activated._

_The akuma appeared immediately, laughing as it flew at the battered Exorcists. Allen, to his credit, reacted pretty well in his completely exhausted state. His sword swiped at the akuma, cutting it in half without hesitation._

_But then the akuma exploded. In _white.

_It was absolutely blinding, and for a few heart-stopping moments, Allen drowned in the sea of white. The younger boy could hear Kanda yelling his name, yelling, yelling, yelling . . ._

_And then the blinding brightness disappeared._

_But so did Lenalee._

_Allen could feel his mouth dropping open in shock, his mind becoming numb from the sudden fear. Lenalee's battered body had turned faint and translucent, before it completely disappeared._

_Allen was left grabbing thin air._

_His head whipped around to Kanda, who watched in silent horror as Lavi slowly faded away as well. __As if the ginger had never been there in the first place._

_"N-No . . ."_

_A sob made its way up Allen's throat as he fell to his knees and crawled to the only comrade he had left. In the end, Allen was only just _that_. A young child. A young child . . . forced to play soldier in a cruel world forsaken by God. In that world, there was no happily ever after._

_Grabbing Kanda's hand and squeezing it, Allen__ prayed to the God he did not believe in, pleading that Kanda wouldn't disappear as well. Not Kanda. Not Kanda, not him when Allen held his hand so tightly._

_For once, Kanda didn't pull away or yell at him. He let the younger boy slump against him, the cowl of Allen's Innocence enveloping both in a warming atmosphere. __Tears made their way down the younger boy's face. Allen knew he wouldn't be the one who went first. And he was right._

_Not even five minutes later, the battered samurai started fading as well. Kanda lifted his other hand, staring at his rapidly fading fingers as he turned to the last member of their team. The boy was almost hiccuping, choking over his sobs as he stared at his fading comrade in pure fear._

_Kanda almost felt as though it was Allen himself who was disappearing, with the way he was acting. In a final act of kindness, the older lifted his rapidly fading hand to Allen's face as he wiped away some of his tears._

"_Oi, Beansprout, it's too childish to cry. In the end, you really are nothing but a beansprout."_

_And then Kanda blinked out of existence as well._

_Allen cried out as he curled up into a ball, screaming for his lost friends. Screaming desperately. It wasn't fair that he had to be the last one standing, again, again, again. Why did they have to disappear? They wouldn't leave Allen alone, would they?_

_But of course, nobody came for him. Nobody came to put him out of his misery. Nobody at all._

_Allen was almost glad when the darkness came to swallow him up._

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"We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone."

―Orson Welles

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His eyelids were heavy and his body felt as though it had weighed tonnes. Yet Allen was completely comfortable and at ease. His body was enveloped in soft warmth and for once, nothing hurt.

_That_ was always a good sign.

Allen slumped back into the welcoming darkness, time seemingly stopped. It was almost relaxing, this lull in space, and for once Allen couldn't think of anything that was wrong. For once, everything was at peace. He drifted in and out of consciousness, his troubled mind finally at rest.

And then a loud creak echoed into the room. A door ―_his door, perhaps?_― was opened, and sounds of soft, padding footsteps quickly filled Allen's ears. Someone, more than just some_one_, actually, walked into the room and stopped beside his bed.

A female voice, startling _familiar_, began to gently speak.

"Allen, it's Saturday again. We had a very amusing week―"

Another voice; childish, happy, and distinctively male, butted in. "Yup! Today I managed to play a prank on Komui and it was HILARIOUS. Oh, and on Thursday I also managed to dye the ends of Yuu-chan's hair pink!"

A loud crash. Colourful swearing from another boy ―_teen_?― and a quick, hasty shush from the first voice. She immediately reprimanded them.

"Kanda, we're talking to Allen right now! Go kill Lavi later!"

"Aww, Lenalee, you don't mean that!"

"Che . . ."

These voices were all so familiar to Allen; his mind was almost throbbing with pain as he tried to figure out who they were. Who they were to him. Even the hilarious bickering they were doing at the moment sounded nostalgic, familiar, and completely _right_.

Wait a minute . . . weren't their names mentioned?

If Allen was right, then the three intruders to his peaceful state were . . . Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda, right?

Lenalee . . . Lavi . . . Kanda . . .

Lenalee . . . Lavi . . . Kanda . . .

. . . _Lenalee . . . Lavi . . . Kanda . . ._

_He was left grabbing air as Lenalee's body completely disappeared._

_Lavi also faded away, as if he had never been there in the first place._

_Kanda's fading hand on his cheek, wiping away some tears as he told Allen in his own way to stop crying._

Painful memories erupted suddenly in his mind and Allen finally found the will to move his body again. He jerked up, silver eyes snapping open as he remembered all of his friends' demises.

They were gone. Gone, gone, gone, gone, _gone_―

His face slackened at the three people who were in front of his bedside. In return, they jumped and stared at him, shock evident in all of their faces.

Lenalee had longer hair than what Allen had remembered. It was put in her usual pig-tails, and she was wearing what looked like a comfortable t-shirt and a skirt. _No uniform…_

Lavi also looked the same, yet . . . not. Red hair was tied back with a bandanna and a black eye patch was placed over his left eye. Lavi wore a white shirt with some denim jeans, the uniform for the Black Order no where in sight. Lavi's face looked rather comical as well, his mouth hanging open as he stared at Allen with pure shock.

And finally, Kanda. His long hair was put in a neat pony-tail, completely at odds with Allen's last memory of the boy. Like the others, he sported casual clothes and not his Black Order uniform. Kanda had frozen as well, halfway through a curse as he stared at Allen.

.

.

.

_What?_

Immediately, the spell that had settled over everyone was broken as Lenalee sniffed. Tears gathered in her eyes as she stared at the child in front of her, the child that was staring at her, the child that was _awake_―

And then she realized that said child looked completely scared to _death_.

Allen looked around rapidly, his eyes betraying the distress he felt as he took in the details of the room. His complete confusion felt almost tangible in the air. If anything, the room he was currently in looked to be a regular hospital room in the Order.

But for some reason . . . it looked completely _wrong_. It felt wrong too. It was all wrong, all weird.

And then Kanda whipped out his black golem, immediately muttering some quiet words to it before watching it fly off.

So. Allen was more than a little confused as he watched his . . . friends. But no, that was it. They didn't _feel _like his friends. They felt . . . it felt . . . as though they knew Allen very well, judging by the looks on their faces.

. . . But . . .

. . . It felt as though Allen didn't know them _at all_.

So despite himself, despite his initial happiness, Allen pressed himself as far away as he could from them as possible, completely flattening himself against the wall. It wasn't right. Who were they? Why did they look like his friends? Where were all his friends? Were they really dead and _gone_?

Allen flinched from just the thought.

But . . . But Allen was alive, wasn't he? So . . . So they should be okay too . . .

Tears of pure stress made their way down his cheeks as he stared at the three people before him; the people who were his friends yet not his friends. To his surprise, all three looked extremely concerned; even the usually emotionless Kanda. Lenalee edged forward slowly, murmuring soothing words to the younger child as he whimpered pitifully.

"It's okay, shh, we won't hurt you."

It seemed to do the trick, for Allen felt himself relaxing as the familiarity of Lenalee's concern filtered through his mind. The girl eventually managed to get close enough to wrap her arms around the trembling form of her friend as she sent a pointed look to the other occupants in the room. For his part, Allen buried his wet face into Lenalee's shoulder, finally breaking down in complete sobs.

Lavi seemed to get the hint as he sat beside the girl. He started to rub the frightened boy's back in slow, soothing circles. Kanda stood rigidly, glaring at them and sometimes at the wall beside them.

For a moment, everything felt normal. Kanda was glaring at him, Lavi and Lenalee were hugging him. Against his wishes, Allen slowly felt himself relax even further, the tension and his hazy and dark thoughts slowly dissipating . . .

And then the door flew open, showing the face of a man Allen never thought he would ever see again.

All hell broke loose as Cross Marian flew into the room. Allen immediately stiffened again, silver eyes widening to the size of saucers as he stared at his ex-master who was suppose to be _dead_.

Yup, he had a feeling now that he wasn't in his own world. Maybe the Ark had sensed his distress and sent him to another dimension or something? As crazy as it sounded, it seemed to be the most probable conclusion at the time. Allen thought hard as he tried to remember if he had heard the musical notes of the Ark before he had lost himself to the darkness.

However, all thoughts literally went out the window as his Master pushed both Lenalee and Lavi to the side and . . .

Hugged him.

Oh. Master ―_Cross Marian_― was actually hugging him.

Allen almost fainted again from the shock alone.

The man had looked almost exactly as how he had remembered him; dazzling red hair, white mask, everything. But for some reason, he looked utterly relieved. It almost made Allen believe that his Master had actually been worried about him.

Pftt. That was impossible. But . . .

Lenalee finally started crying herself as she started to rub her purple eyes furiously. Lavi's one green eye looked a bit too bright and shiny. And even Kanda looked away, his long hair hiding his face.

What happened . . . ? Allen felt his heart clench.

Beside him, Master started to talk, his voice slightly hoarse but still strong. It was almost nostalgic to listen to him, Allen thought. His devil of a Master really left an impact on him . . .

And then Allen froze when he finally processed the words his Master had said.

"You're awake. Allen, you're awake . . . you were in a coma for an entire year. We thought you'll never wake up again . . ."

An entire year. That was how long he had spent at the Order. A year.

"These . . . idiot friends . . . of yours came to talk to you every week to try and wake you up. Even when they had missions, one of them would make it back before the week was up just to talk with you."

A year. He had been asleep for a year. A year.

"You've just woken up, so I can see that you're confused, and it'll take time getting used to everything―"

The door flew open again, this time opening to admit a gasping Komui. His red face completely lit up at the sight of the boy on the bed, and he broke out into a grin.

Komui. Master.

Lenalee. Lavi. Kanda.

They were all the same.

But . . . Allen had been asleep for an entire year.

A year.

A _year_.

A whole, complete, _year._

. . . Did that mean . . . that all his memories of the Order, and everything that had happened in his life so far . . .

. . . Were fake?

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**Chapter I END**

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**(last edited 11/30/2016)**

**AN: **Hi there! This is Sakhyu speaking. After Hoshino came back and all that jazz (yay!), she unfortunately tore what little plot I had to itty bitty pieces. Which meant I now have to restart. Thankfully, I didn't have much of a plot anyway.

Anyway, I came back to this story and realized that it's pretty horrible. Grammar and all, I mean. So I decided to clean it up a bit. After I clean all the chapters, I'll start on the next one! Thank you for being so awesome and patient, my dear readers!


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone, I'm back! I'm actually surprised that my story got any response at all, with the DGM fandom at 18+k. However, thank you very much! It is to you reviewers, followers, and favouriters that I found it in me to continue!**

**I replied all the reviews, and I will reply Guest reviews here in the chapter itself.**

**Guest: Thank you very much! Here is your new chapter, I'm glad you like my story.**

**FK: Thank you! But, oh wait, Allen was crying on Lenalee's shoulder, not Kanda's! Haha, big brother Kanda-ness will come in a few chapters.**

**R. A. R. B.: Thank you very much! Here is you new chapter!~**

**Please go to the bottom for the continuation of my Author Note! I'm sure you're just itching to read my story at the moment, ha ha.**

**Disclaimer: Saku-chan does not own any DGM things. Nope. Nil. The only thing she owns is the plot of the story, and well, with 18.4k stories, she's not even sure if she **_**does **_**own it, harrharr. **

**Please enjoy!**

**-(*+*)-**

Allen stared.

And blinked.

Before he _staaaaaared _some more.

"…Um…Beansprout?"

Lavi laughed almost nervously as he watched the younger boy blink blankly at his own reflection. "Are you…okay?"

On the other hand, Allen did not even deign a reply to the older boy, because he was _not_ okay_. _No, he was _completely_ not okay (that should have been obvious from the way he didn't bother to make a comment about his dreaded nickname).

Why, do you ask?

Well, for one, Allen looked twelve.

_Twelve._

…Or maybe even _eleven_. God knows how Allen missed hitting puberty. It seemed that it would always come back to bite him in the butt.

But on the other hand, why the _heck _was Allen so much…younger? For one, Allen was sure that Miranda didn't accidentally used her Innocence on him or something; in fact, Allen wasn't even sure if this was in her Innocence's capabilities! His own Innocence, Crown Clown, didn't have this ability either, as far as Allen was concerned.

And the Ark wasn't even in for consideration, even if it could have taken Allen to wherever he was in the first place; it was basically a giant transporting device! Allen was pretty sure that his beautiful white city didn't have the capability to turn him into a freaking child.

With his eyes never leaving the mirror, Allen lifted his right hand to his face. His reflection copied the movement as Allen dutifully recorded the image of his current self. Soft, almost unhealthily pale skin was the first thing that caught his eye, combined with his small, almost trembling skinny frame. Allen looked slightly malnourished and it seemed as if he hadn't seen daylight for months.

…Although, with what the others had told him concerning his state for the past year, that had probably been true.

Fluffy, silver-ish white hair puffed around his head in a soft halo. Allen tilted his head, watching his bangs flop to one side. His blood red scar was still on his face, a mess of raw _red_ that made his otherwise ghostly pale figure look alive. It was as if his curse was the only anchor holding him to the physical world. And although Allen held no lost love for his cursed eye, he was somewhat relieved to see something that didn't change.

And of course, last but not least…his gray-blue eyes.

…Allen inwardly scowled.

His...His eyes were huge and-and…cute! It looked as if he was a freaking doll! Or-Or even a little girl! Large pools of mercury stared back at him, long lashes fluttering slightly as Allen studied himself. In all seriousness, he looked like one of those fragile porcelain dolls that used to peek at him from the tall shelves in those toy stores. No wonder everyone was treating him so gently. It looked as if he would crack at any given moment.

… … …

… …

…

With an inward sigh, Allen consoled himself by saying how he could rant about his current appearance after he got some answers._ Now, back to the main problem._

"Everybody…"

His voice sounded weak and Allen slightly frowned. He could even see some of the room's occupants leaning closer in an attempt to hear him better. _That _didn't usually happen. Although Allen was super polite, he was _not_ shy around anyone; women, superiors, hot guys…After being Cross' apprentice for so many years, things like shyness kind of died.

It wasn't too unexplanatory though; it was his first time speaking after waking up in this new world a day ago. Perhaps it was his clearly delicate health, or maybe it had been the drugs that were still pumped into him, but Allen had fallen asleep almost immediately after Komui had arrived.

"How…how old am I?" He injected some force into his voice and was pleased to hear a slightly stronger tone. Quickly, his eyes flickered to the occupants of the room as his question left his lips.

Silence…and then–

"Twelve."

…_Ha, at least I'm not eleven..._

Komui was the one who had spoken up, eyes never leaving Allen's trembling form. He seemed honestly worried about the pale-haired boy (Allen felt a small stab of guilt), but Allen had brushed off any attempts made to stop him and had literally jumped out of the bed to look for a mirror.

Lavi nodded immediately when he realized that Komui did not plan to elaborate. "Yup, Beansprout! You're twelve now, almost thirteen, actually! Lenalady's currently 15, and Yuu and Yours Truly are both 16."

A pause…and then a low growl, the _shishing _sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath, and then–

A quick glare from a nurse stopped all attempts of the assassination of a red rabbit from a certain Japanese samurai. As of now, Kanda only blatantly glared at the red-head with as much hate as he could muster for saying his dreaded first name. Lavi just continued to grin in an oblivious manner.

Ignoring what seemed like a common occurrence in this world and his own (another thing that didn't change, thank goodness!), Allen scrunched his face up. All their ages were wrong! No wonder every one of them had looked slightly off, slightly _younger _than what Allen had originally remembered. Back then, Lenalee had been only a year older than him, while both Lavi and Kanda had been 3 years older than him. Now…it seemed as though Lenalee was 2 years older than him, and Kanda and Lavi around 3?

Allen inwardly groaned. It seemed as though even more comments about his age would be made, considering his occupation of an exorcist. He could still remember the whispers that were made when he was admitted into the Black Order in his world, and back then he was 15! Allen disliked all those comments and those quiet pitying whispers, because being able to wear the silver cross on his coat was neither a burden nor a misfortune. It was an honor…an honor Allen held.

_Or at least, an honor Allen used to hold._

A gentle hand suddenly ruffled his hair and Allen blinked, snapping out of his daze as he looked up. Komui smiled at him sheepishly, before parroting what Master had told him only the day before.

"Don't think about it so much, Allen. You just woke up; of course you would be confused."

Allen paused, before he gave into the temptation and looked up, secretly studying everyone in the room. His heart was still pounding from what had happened–

–_they left him alone, he was the only one left, why why why whywhywhy_–

–but in all seriousness, he had felt much more in control than the first time he woke up. Some distraction would do him no harm though, and it would be good to try and figure out what the heck was happening.

Komui smiled at him –_so kindly and gently, almost as if he was Lenalee_– and tilted his head. Allen smiled back himself, tentatively at the male he had once known so well.

–_he's a stranger now, unfamiliar_–

Allen's gaze travelled to his Master. The red-haired man was conversing with the nurse in low tones. He looked like the man Allen had remembered; all straightforward and harsh, and Allen suspected that the day before had been a fluke. Master could have _not _been worried about him. It was a preposterous idea.

–_the walls was stained with blood, as red as the hair the man had himself_–

Letting his eyes travel again, Allen locked onto Lenalee's form. She was watching him as well, and she gave him a small and shy smile as she appeared to drink his image in. It was no wonder though; it seemed as though this Lenalee was the same as _his_ Lenalee in personality. Always so kind and gentle…she was the dotting older sister Allen never managed to have.

–_her body becoming lighter, completely disappearing from view_–

Lavi, on the other hand, immediately offered a large smile to the boy when his eyes locked onto his. Lavi looked almost no different from Allen's memories, albeit a bit younger, his red hair still flaming and messy while his lone emerald eye shined in barely concealed relief.

–_Lavi disappeared as well, disappeared gone, left him alone_–

Last but not least, Kanda. The samurai, like Lavi, did not look much physically different than the one Allen had known. Realizing the pair of eyes on him, Kanda raised his head and shot Allen a glare before turning away. Allen inwardly laughed; it was nice to see that nothing changed.

–_Never mind that weird glint in the older teen's eyes, the way he almost seemed gentle–_

Another warm hand made its appearance on Allen's body; this time clamped to his shoulder as it pushed him towards the direction of his bed. Allen blinked out of his daze and looked up to see the nurse, who had a nice but firm smile on her face.

"You should get some sleep, I'm sure you must be very tired by now."

As much as Allen wanted to argue, (because the weirdness of the situation wasn't going to become clear by itself, and he was sure he wouldn't fall asleep with something like that hanging over him), he did feel the building drowsiness that was threatening to overtake him.

…That, and the nurse's expression looked scary.

Allen inwardly sighed. _Best not to risk it. _He offered a small pout as he climbed into his bed and smiled tentatively to everyone. All of his smiles were returned; some people even ruffled his hair before walking out of the room.

And contrary to what Allen had been thinking, he was sound asleep in less than ten minutes.

-(*+*)-

Allen discreetly wiped his sweaty palms onto his nightgown as he shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He fidgeted as conspicuously as possible, but he knew for a fact that blood was pounding in his head and colouring his cheeks a stained red as he nervously licked his lips. Feeling that familiar trickle of anxiety again, Allen scrunched up his hands in his gown as his eye twitched, and–

"Idiot Apprentice, for the love of wine and beautiful women, _stop_ your stupid fidgeting!"

Immediately, Allen stopped and whipped around, before leveling a glare at his stupid –_still alive, he was still alive_– master.

Unfortunately, before he could even open his mouth to spew an appropriate insult, someone beside him burst into laughter.

Allen's eye started to twitch again, this time in annoyance.

_Lavi._

Said bookman-in-training was currently holding his stomach in laughter as he tried valiantly to wipe the many tears away from his eyes. Allen glared at him until the boy managed to finally catch his breath. Once he did, Lavi immediately looked up and…ruffled Allen's hair. All done with the huge grin attached to his face.

"Oh my gosh, Beansprout, did you _not_ see how cute you were? Trying to glare, hahahaha! At General Cross no less!" Almost immediately, the older boy burst into round 2 of endless laughter. On the other hand, Lavi's hand was immediately swatted away by a very annoyed Allen, who proceeded to give his –and in quotations, "cute"– glare to the other red-headed male.

…And once again, quiet giggling filled the air as Lenalee discreetly covered her mouth. Allen looked at her incredulously.

"You really do look cute, Allen!" Was her only explanation. Her eyes glittered with happiness as she smiled at the flustered boy.

Allen felt his cheeks redden as he had a sudden urge to bang his head against the nearest wall. He may be and look physically twelve, but he still had a mindset of a sixteen year old! He was definitely not _cute. _

On the other hand, said urge to murder his own head with a wall was immediately reinforced at the sight of Kanda's smirk.

Luckily for his head and the poor wall, it was Allen's turn.

Wait, turn for what, you ask? Well, considering he had only just woken up, Allen was not going to like, play cards or something. Or gambling, for that matter.

No, it was his turn to…

Order food.

After a few days of constant pestering (whenever he wasn't sleeping like he pulled a few all-nighters, of course), Allen had finally managed to convince his peers that he was ready to leave the white walls of the hospital room. And good riddance too; although the hospital food wasn't _bad, _per say, Jerry's food was at least a hundred times better. Allen swore that he was even _dreaming _of Jerry's food in his I-am-super-sleep-deprived sleeps. He had wanted nothing but to go into their cafeteria and chow down on the many dishes he had completely loved.

Of course, that was before he had stepped out of his room.

Outside his room, however, Allen suddenly felt a wave of fear wash over him. Sure, it had been a few days in this new universe, but Allen was still keenly aware of the fact that he wasn't _home_. There were still differences; small differences, yet blaringly visible to Allen's sharp eyes.

…It all added to the lump in Allen's throat, never failing to remind him that he wasn't in his home.

In addition to that, there were the _stares_. Okay, so Allen had his share of stares and glares in his rough childhood, but…the stares here were _even_ stranger. Instead of the curious, the _horrified_ stares Allen had received in the past (and more recently, the suspicion-filled and wary stares Allen had gotten in the Order, due to him having the chance of being the '14th'), Allen was the victim of many, _many _worried and happy stares.

It was surreal.

Allen didn't know how to respond.

So instead, his confusion transformed into his current state; nervousness. In his relief, all his friends, Komui, and even Cross accompanied him to the cafeteria, shielding him from most of the curious looks. Even Kanda had been relatively nice, actually steadying the poor boy when he had swayed after attempting to walk for such a long time.

A startled gasp and a teary sniff prompted Allen to look up and chased him out of the clouds in his head. He blinked, looking at the man who practically became his favourite chef. The man was staring at him with wide eyes, and was visibly holding back tears. Allen felt his own lips turn upwards into a small smile.

"Hi Jerry! Is it too late to order some brunch?" He asked almost teasingly, his stomach already anticipating the loads of delicious food just waiting to be eaten.

The eccentric male blinked, before nodding happily. "Of course, cutie! Oh, I didn't believe it when I heard the rumors about how you woke up, I just can't believe it! Its been such a long time, dear~"

He smiled warmly at the surprised boy before leaning forward. "Now, what can I get you, sweetie?"

Allen shook himself out of his stupor and smiled. It still warmed his heart that he had so many people caring for his wellbeing. And then…he began listing all the foods he was craving.

"…and some dango, please!" 17 dishes later, we see Allen finishing his endless request for food. Everyone in the cafeteria gaped at him. Jerry, on the other hand, immediately bustled away to prepare all the dishes.

"Brat, you think you can actually finish all of that?" A skeptical Cross Marian stared at his apprentice. Lavi tried to close his unhinged jaw while even Kanda stared blankly at him. Allen, on the other hand, nodded fervently. He had been starving!

Well, technically, the place wasn't refusing him food or anything. He just only had normal sized meals (which was weird, because even when he was in the hospital wing, he always had a considerably larger amount of food) and with all the sleeping he did, Allen never felt too hungry.

Now, as Allen studied the reactions of all his peers, he realized that he probably didn't eat that much in this alternate universe. He hid a smirk; everyone was in for a big surprise. Allen was going to put a serious dent in the Black Order's food supply.

Komui stared at him thoughtfully, before absent-mindedly voicing his opinion. "General Cross, doesn't Allen have a parasite Innocence? Perhaps it has evolved?"

Allen's heart skipped a beat. His Innocence! Crown Clown! Since his stay in this new universe, Allen never got the chance to see what his hand looked like. Even in his coma, he was wearing a pair of pristine white gloves. And honestly, his Innocence had completely slipped his mind with his schedule of sleeping and observing his 'not-my-universe's' friends.

Cross grunted, and like Komui, ran his eyes over the small body of his apprentice. Lenalee, on the other hand, looked horrified at her brother's words and even Lavi's happy mask slipped for a single second as his eyes too became hard. Even Kanda tensed almost unnoticeably, throwing his Supervisor a particularly nasty glare.

"In that case, we can ask Hevlaska to check his Innocence tomorrow." Cross replied unemotionally, taking a swig of the wine he had snuck out. Lenalee immediately spoke up.

"B-But Allen's only 12! And he just woke up. Brother…" She looked beseechingly at his older brother, and immediately Komui wavered. After all, he too thought that Allen was way too young to face the cruelties of the War. And what his sister had said was true; Allen had only just woken up.

"No, Lenalee, its fine."

Surprised, all heads swerved to the person who had spoken…the white-haired boy himself. Allen blinked. He had an inkling of his friend's thoughts, and well, they didn't really make him happy. If they thought that they could coddle the white-haired child, oh _boy_, were they wrong. He was by no means weak, and he wasn't going to sit around doing nothing while his friends fought every day. No way.

"I'm interested in finding out too." He flashed the girl a smile, and was readying a response as he saw Lenalee just about to protest. Luckily for Allen, his food had finally arrived.

"Then it's final." Komui quickly closed the discussion before his cute, sweet, _amazing_ sister tried talking him out of it. However, he himself secretly promised Lenalee that in the very least, he'll keep Cross' charge off any missions for the time being.

Allen smiled as he and his friends helped him carry his food to one of the tables. He couldn't wait to get his Innocence appraised again.

_Tomorrow_.

Allen would be ready.

**-(*+*)-**

**Okay, more action will happen in the next chapter! This chapter was basically like a filler, trying to let Allen slowly merge into this alternate universe. **

**And again, please review. If this story gets the same amount of reviews or more, I will definitely continue it! If not, I'll probably let it rot for a while as I pick up my other stories and/or plot bunnies. So review!**

**Thank you for reading, Sakura Hyuga out!~**


	3. Chapter 3 and Sidestory 1

**Asjghsdjk hi everybody! I'm back! Anyhow, thank you for all the amazing reviews/favs/follows! It is only because of those that I decided to continue this story first, out of my 15 other fics.**

**Like the first time, I've reply to all the reviews prior to posting and now I shall reply guest reviews here.**

**Sara Allen: Thank you for the kind words. ;; I'll try my best to keep updating.**

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**Please proceed to the end of the chapter for the rest of my author note. I'm sure you're all waiting to read the story, now, haha.**

**Disclaimer: Saku-chan owns nothing. Nothing, nil, (except the plot) although she would like to own a few DGM books, uhuhuhu.**

**Please enjoy!~**

**-(*+*)-**

_The pale moon was eerie, and Allen could swear that it was smirking at him. He shivered, pulling his cloak closer to his trembling body._

_Wait a minute…Allen's head snapped down, almost short of getting a whiplash. However, he had no time to think about that. After all, he was completely and utterly stupefied. Why?_

_Well, one; Crown Clown was activated. Two…_

_He was old again. No, wait, not 'old-man' old, but rather, he was back as his 16-year old self. Feeling another chill that crawled up his back, Allen quickly scanned the area for anything abnormal. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary (then again, he was an exorcist; everything was out of the ordinary) and for the first time in his alternate universe adventure, Allen felt his body relaxing. The once-freakiness of his dream even dissipated into a soothing atmosphere, with Allen almost craving for something that had not changed –he was almost glad to be in one of his creepy dreams again just for the sake of familiarity–_

"_Beansprout?"_

_Until he saw the drops of red scattered at his feet. _

_Allen froze, his mind blanking and deserting him. His limbs began to tremble and his breaths became erratic. It was like one of those horror movies, when you scream at the characters to not open that door. Of course, they do it anyway. _

"_Beansprout!" _

_Similarly, Allen didn't want to look up. He didn't. But like all protagonists in a horror film, his head began to traitorously rise and he braced himself for what would for sure be a scarring experience–_

"BEANSPROUT!"

"My name is Allen!" The words were basically out of his mouth before he even registered them, and with another violent jerk Allen felt himself rushing through open air.

On the other hand, someone swore with a colourful vocabulary in both English and Japanese. With his mind still half asleep, Allen barely had enough time to think about how he had fell out of his bed before strong arms saved him from his fall.

"…"

"…"

Allen cracked his eyes opened and almost gave himself a heart attack as he found himself staring into cobalt blue eyes. He immediately lowered his head and began to stare at his pajamas with faked fascination.

"…Beansprout."

He was shifted before being gently set down onto his bed. Allen, however, still refused to meet the eyes of his savior. He could still feel Kanda's –it wasn't _his _Kanda!– stare as the older male studied the still shuddering child.

"Beansprout…"

And then, suddenly, a warm hand ruffled his white hair.

…

Did Allen mention that there was only him and Kanda in his room at the moment?

…

Allen was downright flabbergasted! He was shell-shocked at the affectionate gesture. Why was this Kanda so nice? _His _Kanda tried chopping him up with Mugen all the time! _His _Kanda didn't even want to touch a 'cursed' person. _His _Kanda…_His _Kanda…

"BEANSPROUT-CHANNNNN!~" The door slammed open with a thump. Almost immediately, Kanda jumped away from the white haired child as Allen looked up with wide eyes.

And of course, it was Lavi Bookman who stood there with all his morning glory. Lenalee immediately waltzed in as well, holding a change of clothes (made by Johnny, of course!), and Allen's breakfast. Kanda, on the other hand, inconspicuously edged away from Allen's bed and towards Lenalee. The said female looked knowingly at the long-haired male, but said nothing as she turned to Allen.

"Good morning Allen! Sorry about Lavi, well, you know how he is." Lenalee gave an embarrassed laugh as she whacked their friend's head. Lavi, of course, erupted into childish whines as he rubbed his sore head.

"I wanted to wake Beansprout-chan up! We even came extra early to make sure he was still asleep! Who knew he was already awake with Yuu-chan. Wahhh, you're so mean! Yuu-chan, you ruined my fun!"

…

…

…

Dead silence…and then…

"Ack! Kanda! Don't wave Mugen around in the infirmary! Lavi, stop edging Kanda to slaughter you! Allen, you…go change and eat your breakfast!"

Almost immediately, a change of clothes was thrown onto his lap, with his food placed down on the table. Both lay forgotten, however, as Allen watched his –no…not _his_– friends bicker. He couldn't stop a small giggle from his lips as he watched 'mother' Lenalee try and break up the fight.

Even with his disturbing dream that night, it was a relief to know that some things never changed. That there was something similar about his current world compared to his old one. That his comrades had never changed, and that they didn't _disappear into thin air_.

Almost immediately, the smile slipped off of the white-haired child's face. That was right, _his _friends had gone poof. For all he knew, all of his dear friends might as well be dead. Allen's face twisted in worry as he relived the memory. He could no longer smile at the show the other three in the room were currently doing.

_His dear friends…_

Grabbing his clothes and making his way to the bathroom, Allen missed the worried looks that all 3 of his friends had pinned onto his back.

**-(*+*)-**

Allen bounced happily beside his friends as they made their way to the cafeteria. Lenalee had forgotten Allen's newly reinstated appetite, and they were all on the way to get him some seconds…and thirds…and fourths and fifths and whatever else Allen could digest.

After a quick meeting with their pink haired chef, Allen had a dozen dishes all for his consumption. Which he, of course, promptly began to devour as soon as he and the gang found a suitable spot to sit down.

"I still can't believe how much you can eat." Lavi said in awe as they all watched Allen vacuum his food down his throat.

"Che. Gluttonous beansprout." Kanda remarked. Lenalee pinched Allen's cheek.

"Allen, where the heck does all your food go? How do you stay so small? Tell me your secret."

Allen shoveled more food into his mouth as he shied away from the caring gestures his friends bombarded him with. Even Kanda was full of them! Lavi also seemed more…genuine. And Lenalee was now around 200x more motherly.

Lost in his musings, Allen missed the golden golem that flew into the room. Mere seconds later, his head had acquired a large bump.

"Oww!"

Allen nursed his head as he began to glare at his golem –_his golem_! Tim!

"Timcampy!" The modified golem flew into Allen's outstretched arms as Allen happily nuzzled it. His three friends even paused in their bickering to watch the white-haired child as he happily played with the golem.

A minute later, Lavi reluctantly plucked it out of Allen's grasp, knowing that there was a reason the golden golem was sent to them. Timcampy immediately began a recording.

"_Oi, Idiot Apprentice, its nearly time for lunch. Get your butt here so we can appraise your Innocence and so I can go to a bar for some brunch._"

Allen stared at the hologram of his teacher. Suddenly, a monkey attacked his Master's red mane.

"_Hey!_"

A woman with gold hair and an intricate scar on her face moved into the camera. She gave a brief nod.

"_Of course, General Cross means he has a mission with me after your appraisal. Due to this, I would also appreciate it if we could start early. If you're ready, please make your way to Chief Supervisor Komui's office._"

And Tim stopped the recording.

Allen slurped up the last of his chicken soup before he got up. His friends followed suit, albeit with less enthusiasm. Playing on his hunch, Allen guessed that all of them were still upset over him starting his exorcist duties at his current age. Shoving his annoyance away –he was _more _than capable, thank you very much– he turned around and gave them all a bright smile.

"Come on you guys. It's not that bad. Just an appraisal, right?"

Lavi's smile dropped as even Kanda frowned. Lenalee grimaced.

"I'm really sorry Allen! I don't know what my brother is thinking. Actually, I swear that he _isn't _thinking, sometimes–"

However, before Lenalee could go any further, Allen shook his head. _Just as he thought._ But he didn't believe in his friends' point of views…no, not at all. Not when they fought day and night. Allen did not want to sit around and wait when he could help.

"No, Lenalee. This is something I want to. I don't want you guys out fighting while I wait for you, all safe and sound. I have Innocence, and I will use it!" Allen stated fiercely. Everyone, however, looked horrified.

Lenalee cried out softly. "But Allen! You're not ready to face this, no, you're too–"

Allen shook his head again and moved forward with resolution. "Ne, Lenalee, trust in me. No…all of you. Please. Trust in me."

Silence. Allen felt slight fear; what if they still refused? Not that it would have stopped Central from sending him on missions, but if he was babied all the time, wouldn't the others become less attentive to their own safety? Allen couldn't risk that. No. Even if they were not _his _friends, they were still friends! He couldn't let them become careless because of him.

More silence. And then…

Another pair of feet slapped the floors as they began to follow Allen. Indescribable relief filled the white-haired boy. And then another pair of footsteps followed him. And last but not least, one more.

Allen didn't look behind to confirm. His heart swelled with happiness; they believed in him.

Allen could only hope that he lived up to their expectations.

**-(*+*)-**

"So, Allen, are you ready?" Komui's cheerfulness was completely out of place in the grim atmosphere. Well, grim because of Allen's friends. Allen was downright bubbling with energy. Kanda, Lavi, and Lenalee, on the other hand, still looked as if they were attending a funeral.

"Of course!" Allen answered as he moved to follow Komui. This time, however, nobody but his Master followed him. He looked back, confused.

Lenalee was the first one to realize the white-haired boy's unspoken question. "Don't worry Allen; we'll be waiting for you here."

Komui nodded and smiled teasingly. "The room is only so big, you know."

Allen felt his face warm up as he nodded in embarrassment. The boy had unconsciously begun to get used to all his friend's presences. Without Kanda's long hair swinging in the wind, Lenalee's light footsteps, and Lavi's loud laughter, everything seemed off.

Allen immediately set off and opened the door, stepping into it to meet Hevlaska.

Gentle light filled the otherwise dark room as his Master and Komui stepped in behind him. For once, however, the Great Generals were silent. Their shadowy figures seemed large to Allen's child-self and Allen tried his best to swallow the awe that was unfortunately building in him. Even if he had gone through all of this before. Even if he was already a seasoned exorcist. Even if he was once already past 100% synchronization.

Suddenly, Allen was knocked out of his musings as a tendril wrapped itself around his waist.

…And of course, it took all of Allen's willpower to not shriek like a little girl, despite having expecting it.

Very quickly, Allen was left face-to-face with Hevlaska. Her gentle probing felt unnerving, no matter how much Allen attempted to relax.

"Show…" The tendrils snaked around his body and Allen cringed despite his best efforts to seem unaffected. Komui…looked amused…_That idiot!_

"Me…your Innocence…"

And then, after all the probing, Allen finally felt Hevlaska connect with him. As if confirming his thoughts, the deep voice began to slowly announce…

"..2%...16%...31%...56%...82%...91%...The maximum synchronization you and your Innocence can achieve appears to be 91%."

Immediately, Allen felt solid ground beneath his feet again. He turned around to see Komui looking shocked at his clipboard while his Master hummed.

"91%? That's actually pretty decent, twerp."

Allen scowled at the name. "Master, it's Allen! Allen!"

Komui looked up, a grimace on his face. "91%...is pretty high."

Allen modestly looked down, accepting the praises. He only hoped that his synchro rate would prevent anybody's thoughts of coddling him.

Komui moved towards the boy and peered at his left hand. "The last time we had your Innocence appraised by Hevlaska it wasn't nearly as high…"

Master smiled. "To think your Innocence would grow stronger while you slept. Ha! You sure are lucky Idiot Apprentice."

Allen smiled. He was a bit confused as to why his synchro rate was nowhere near what it had used to be, but had chalked it all up to his now apparent youngness. In any case, he was just glad that it wasn't lower than the first time he had gotten it appraised.

Komui looked at his Innocence hand, still covered in a white glove. He pursed his lips. "Allen…could you show me your arm?"

Allen blinked before complying. Truth to be told, other than his dream, he hadn't invocated his Innocence or even looked at his left hand at all. He suppressed a wave of nausea as he peeled back his glove and–

A sharp intake of air and a large gasp.

Allen tentatively peeked at his hand. He didn't even know when he had closed his eyes. To his surprise, however, his hand was…completely normal. Blinking in confusion, Allen finally realized, belatedly, that if his hand was normal to him then it was definitely _not _normal to anyone else in this dimension.

Master roughly grabbed his hand and examined it. "The heck, brat?! Did you dunk your hand into black paint before coming here?"

Komui pushed the slightly panicking General back as his eyes remained on the now black hand. He studied it, before looking at the young boy.

"Allen, could you invocate?"

Having expected this question (really, Allen would have thought that he would be asked this before he even walked into Hevlaska's room) Allen closed his eyes and complied easily. Immediately, he felt his hand change and the soft and gentle feeling of his cowl surround him.

Komui whistled. "Now, _that _looks even more impressive than before."

Master only studied him quietly as Komui lapsed back into silence. Allen fidgeted under the two piercing stares. Finally, Komui spoke again.

"Later, after dinner, let me examine your Innocence, okay?"

Allen nodded as he thought it over. It was a reasonable request. After all, Komui was a cautious person.

"…the Destroyer of Time…"

All of their heads snapped up, even Allen's. It had been a while since he had last heard that. He looked at Hevlaska with bated breath.

"Your Innocence…Allen Walker, the Destroyer of Time."

Komui shook himself out of his serious mood as he ruffled Allen's hair affectionately. "Wow! That sounds impressive. Amazing, Allen! You're going to be great help around the Order."

Master also came around and clapped Allen on his back. He offered no words, but Allen could almost feel some fatherly pride radiate off the red-haired man.

…Which was completely impossible. Allen must have imagining that.

They stepped out of the room and Allen bounced off, delighted to go and regroup with his friends.

Komui looked down on his clipboard again and sighed.

"You want to send the kid on a mission, don't you?"

Komui sighed again. "I think Central will force me to as soon as they catch a whiff of Allen's synchronization rate."

Cross nodded thoughtfully, his eyes still lingering at the door Allen had bounced off in.

"I figured, if he'll have to go on a mission anyway, shouldn't I just pick one best suited for him? That way, we can get Central off Allen's trail for a while and we can be in control of his missions…" Komui flipped through the papers on his clipboard, his face scrunched in deep thought. "…Kanda was supposed to go on a solo mission tomorrow…"

A pause as both of them thought it over.

"…That wannabe samurai would take good care of my stupid apprentice." Cross fingered his smoking pipe as he looked away.

Komui nodded. "…I thought so too. Kanda is also the closest one to a General right now. In that case, I'll brief them after Allen's check-up."

Cross nodded as he began to stalk off, presumably to pack for his mission with the blond general. "Tell my Idiot Apprentice that I said to not fall off a cliff or get lost."

Komui laughed, the tension in the air dissipating. "Of course. I'll be sure to relay that to him."

**-(*+*)-**

**Little Sidestory #1: Kanda**

Kanda stared at his feet with a frown on his face. Lenalee was doing the same thing while Lavi had his eyes fixated on the door Allen had gone through.

They were all nervous about the appraisal. It had been evident merely from the tension that had filled the air. After all, Allen was their dear little brother, and it was cruel to make him start missions when he was so young. Even Lenalee had just started them that year.

Lavi frowned as his thoughts began to turn even grimmer. Looking at his comrades, he was sure that they had been all thinking along the same line of thought. Kanda was even clenching his fists inconspicuously as he glared at the floor…

Lavi felt his lips twitching upwards. Finally, a chance to change the mood!

"Nee, Yuu-chan, I was surprised when me and Lena-lady found you in Allen's room again. I mean, I know you used to visit him in the wee hours of the night but I didn't think you would continue even after he woke up!"

Lenalee jolted at the silence being broke before her mind processed Lavi's words. She also smiled in amusement, the grim thoughts slowly flowing away.

"Well, Lavi, we do know how much Kanda cares for Allen, right?"

Kanda, on the other hand, was very close to slaughtering the Stupid Rabbit. He scowled, replying flippantly as he pretended to examine the painting on the wall. "Che. Who would care about a Beansprout like him."

Lavi laughed. "They all said that Beansprout-chan trusted Yuu-chan the most since General Cross would leave Beansprout with General Tiedoll from time to time."

Lenalee piped in, unable to keep from smirking. "And people also say that it was Kanda who had to babysit Allen for who knows how many years."

Lavi smirked as well. "I even remember one time where I saw Yuu-chan stroking Beansprout's hair a while back."

…

…

…

Silence…before…

Kanda exploded and grabbed his dear Mugen, his cheeks tainted a bit pink. "Shut up you Stupid Rabbit!"

_(Allen later returned to find a Lenalee collapsed on a sofa, laughing her insides out, and an almost skewered 'Stupid Rabbit' hanging from a chandelier. And of course, there was Kanda, stalking his prey below with his mighty Mugen (and for some odd reason, his face turned red when Allen stepped into the room. Allen wondered why).)_

**-(*+*)-**

**Hmm, does this chapter also seem like a filler? I've changed my plans a bit, that's why. xD Next chapter we will start Allen's first mission, so stay tuned for that! And yay, we get some cute Parental!Cross and Overprotective!Kanda today, ehe.**

**In addition, AHHHHHHH, the amazing ShaeraHaek has made some super cute fanart for this fic! It's a cutie platootie pic of dear, pouting Allen, so check it out! I'll have it in the Fanart section of my profile~ Thanks a ton ShaeraHaek! (you know how to make me update faster now LOL, fanart = my eternal love)**

**Last but not least, you know the drill! If this chapter gets the same amount of reviews as before or more, I'll update! If not, it shall rot as I catch up on my other stories. I do this because a lesser amount of reviews to me mean lesser attention and love, which means that I should work on all my other stories more. xD**

**Thank you a lot for reading this! Sakura-chan out~**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm finally back! Ugh, this chapter has remained half-baked for the longest time, because I didn't know how I wanted it to go. That, and the horrifying deity of school. In all honestly, my plans for this story is completely off-track; what I planned for chapter three has moved to like, chapter 6. Whoops.**

**Anyhow, thank you thank you to all the reviewers! I'm so glad to hear all this feedback. Like before, I'll respond to Guest reviews here and do the rest by PM.**

**Guest: Hahaha, curious, heh? Well, if you're curious you must stay tuned! And Yullen? Well, I'm not explicitly saying anything. My readers can choose to believe what they want. :)**

**Guest (death): Thank you for the support! ;v; I really appreciate it.**

**Deidre Erdied: Here is your update. 3 Thank you for waiting.**

**Please proceed to the end of the chapter for the rest of my Author's Note. I'm sure you can't wait for much longer, haha.**

**Disclaimer: Saku-chan does not include anything as remotely awesome as DGM. Unfortunately, nothing. Nil. Not even some merchandise, sobs. **

**-(*+*)-**

Kanda Yuu's hands shook with barely concealed rage as Komui placed the folder in front of him.

…No, not just him; _them_. And yes, the plural was what made everything so, _so _much worse.

The samurai wanabee took in a harsh breath, the air almost hissing through his clenched teeth. His, Lavi's and Lenalee's worst fears were just confirmed. The thought itself had left the usually brooding teen feeling deeply nauseated.

His companion, on the other hand, felt absolutely none of his troubles. In fact, one Allen Walker was practically glowing with pure happiness.

And it was true. Allen was almost ecstatic at the thought of receiving his first mission. Dinner had been a quick affair, with Allen literally slurping up any food he got his hands on. His check-up with Komui had also been relatively strain-free as well, and Allen was relieved to find out that his Innocence was not damaged at all (except for, of course, the slight set-back in power). And right after his check-up, Komui had asked the young boy to follow him into his office.

Where Kanda sat. On the sofa. Ready to get his, _his_ mission delivered to him.

…Which brings us back to Kanda's first problem. It wasn't him or his, it was _them._

"…What the _fu_–" Kanda froze and quickly glanced at Allen, as if he had forgotten that the younger boy was in the room. With an almost unnoticeably wince, Kanda immediately changed the wording of his question.

"Che, what the _heck _are you doing, Komui?" The older teen asked, his tone flat. Allen, on the other hand, felt his eyebrow inwardly rise. When did _Kanda_, of all people, filter his dirty sailor mouth for _him_? If someone had told Allen that this day would come, he would have probably laughed at them. But now, after being the witness to all his companions' strange and somewhat more affectionate actions, Allen couldn't even say that it was really weird anymore.

Komui chanced a glance at the furiously seething teen and winced. Kanda wasn't wearing his 'I-am-annoyed-because-that-is-my-default-personality' face. He currently looked utterly _infuriated. _

The garbed-in-white man willed his voice to stay steady and adjusted his glasses, hands shaking slightly, just waiting for the dam to burst. He sighed internally; Komui could already feel the beginnings of a migraine building up.

"A mission, Kanda. I'm sure you've been in the business long enough to have already known that."

Of course, Kanda was the seasoned exorcist in their little circle of friends, and it seemed as if this didn't change in this new world Allen woke up in. Similarly, this Kanda was also not that really known for his patience. The only difference was that in this world, his impatience usually stemmed from things that concerned one white-haired Beansprout.

That been said, it really wasn't surprising when the long-haired boy exploded at Komui's apparent calmness. Kanda snarled, desperately trying to find reasoning hidden within Komui's words.

"Of course I know that! But why with _him_?! He didn't even start any training with a General yet!" _He's not ready! _The words strayed to the tip of Kanda's tongue, but ultimately stayed there. No need to seem as if the young man _cared _for the troublesome bean, because _honestly, _he didn't. Really.

Allen inwardly snorted. He already went through the worst of Hell with Cross before, thank you very much. He really didn't want to go through that all over again. _Nope_. No thank you. Over his dead body.

This time, it was Komui's turn to blink and raise an eyebrow. The white-clothed man looked at Kanda with an expression similar to what one would look at a stupid child.

…Not that he'll tell Kanda that, of course. Komui rather liked his head attached to his body, and not on the ground where it'll certainly be after a short-tempered samurai uses Mugen on him. Allen watched on, amused. He tried stuffing the distaste of being thought of as weak to the back of his mind. Even if it was Kanda.

Even if it was _Kanda_ belittling him.

…

No, scratch that. Allen inwardly fumed. How dare Kanda belittle him! Even if he had recently been in a coma and was practically a tiny (how Allen loathed that word, but he wasn't as disillusioned to his height―or in this case, lack of―as one might think ) kid, he can still hold his own in a battle. Kanda had no reason to think so little of him!

On the other hand, Komui finally decided on the best approach to a seriously angry, broody, and sword-wielding boy.

"Kanda, Allen's _father_ is General Cross." The Chief said slowly, trying to make Kanda see the light.

However, clearly Kanda had different ideas, because the boy just glared again. Even harshly.

"_Exactly_!" He retorted, as if Komui's words were what made everything make sense.

…

…

…

…In a sad, sad way, it kind of did. Even Allen had to agree with Kanda on that one. But considering the fact that he was on Komui's side, – 'cuz honestly! He could fight Akuma just fine! And Kanda even dared to _belittle _him!– the boy finally decided to speak up.

"Well, what's the mission about?" Kanda blinked out of his rage and turned to look at him incredulously, for once, stunned speechless. He had forgotten that the topic of their discussion was actually in the room with them. On the other hand, Komui gladly took the offered olive branch.

"Thank you Allen. We don't have much time, so right after this briefing, pack your things and move out first thing tomorrow morning. Read the folder on the train for more details."

Suddenly, Allen began to feel dread pooling on the bottom of his stomach. There was something so _wrong _in Komui's words that the boy was even beginning to feel nauseated. He tried to focus on Lenalee's brother as he plowed on with the briefing.

Komui reached out and pulled down a map, feeling none of Allen's thoughts. He pointed at a seemingly random location before he started talking, steadily ignoring all of Kanda's attempts to speak.

"We've found traces of Innocence in Southern Italy, but the chance of Akuma taking it is of course very high. Destroy the enemy and secure the Innocence."

Allen felt his mouth go dry. It wasn't possible. No. It couldn't be. It just couldn't _be._

Kanda opened his mouth to retort angrily, but Komui quickly cut him off again and plowed on. He looked at Allen and smiled, not noticing the pale sheen that had covered the boy's face. Kanda didn't as well, too busy glaring at the Supervisor to even think of assessing his surroundings, or in this case, his little Beansprout. "That's all for now. Allen, you can go pack first. I need to ask Kanda a favor."

…_A favor? _The words barely registered in the white-haired boy's mind. He blinked once before nodding slightly, lips already morphing into his automatic smile. Allen quickly got up and walked out, his joy of getting a mission completely gone. Why? Because this mission was so, _so _similar to the one he had first done with a certain Kanda Yuu.

Allen bit his lip. But that was impossible. Lala…Poor Lala's heart was collected a whole three years later! Not when he was only twelve. It just couldn't be…

A lump formed in Allen's throat as he paled even more. The young boy left almost robotically to his own room, lost in the whirlpool of his own thoughts.

**-(*+*)-**

"…Why?" Kanda asked quietly, after his eyes could no longer follow the young white-haired child. Komui sighed, as he too shifted his gaze from the door back to the serious cobalt blue. However, he was internally rejoicing. The teen in front of him wasn't trying to maim him with his glare alone, that's always a good thing, right? It seemed as if the long-haired boy had finally managed to calm down enough to try and deduce the reasoning behind everything. Kanda had always been so mature for his age, regardless of his short temper and harsh words.

Well, harsh for the people he disliked, that is.

"…His Synchro rate was 91%." Komui began. Kanda blinked, shocked.

He himself was only barely straddling 95%. And that was with his 2 years of experience and glory, plus his other…_circumstances_. Lavi, who had only started a year ago, and Lenalee, who only begun a few months ago, were only in the high and low eighties respectively. For Allen, who never done any field work before, such a high Synchro rate was unimaginable.

Then again, Parasite types were always so much stronger…

"If we had kept him from any battles, Central would no doubt find out." Komui continued explaining. "It would be better to be able to pick which missions to send him out on…instead of Central forcing some kind of suicidal mission on Allen." Komui grimaced at the thought.

"Che…And so you decided to send him with me?" Kanda asked, the pieces slowly coming together in his head. Although he was often laughed as being someone with all brawn, you couldn't do exorcist work without _some_ brains, you know.

Komui nodded. "Lavi, and my darling Lenalee are still too inexperienced. In addition, they may worry about Allen more than they normally would on themselves. At their level, however, they should be worrying about themselves far more than a comrade. Other than you, there is no one else who has a higher synchro rate available right now. Central would also not approve of a General accompanying an exorcist with such a high synchro rate."

Komui nodded at his own explanation as he continued to stare at the child in front of him. Because even Kanda, with all his mature feelings and decisions, was only a child as well.

Komui's eyes dimmed. That wasn't right, and he knew it. His reasoning was not sound, for Kanda was a child who had been forced to grow up too early. He would not make careless mistakes, unlike his little and sweet Lenalee. His still innocent Lenalee…

"This mission should be quite easy. I originally had it marked down as a solo mission. It was the best thing to let Allen get some experience." Komui sighed and looked at Kanda, his eyes glinting with sadness. He knew that every time he sent out one of his exorcists, there was a chance that they would never return. Even as the head Chief, Komui couldn't shield his children from the cruelty of the world. No, he had to depend on them, on their Innocence, and pray that they would be able to return home safely. Safely to smile with them… until they sat on his sofa again, once more holding a mission briefing folder.

It was all he could do…nothing more, nothing less.

"…Kanda, I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to ask you a favor…"

Kanda looked up and Komui stared straight into his eyes.

"Take care of him."

A long, silent pause. And then the said boy scowled.

"…Che. Of course I know that."

**-(*+*)-**

"WHEEEEE!~" A certain white-haired Beansprout couldn't help but laugh as he vaulted down after Kanda to get onto the train. He felt the wind rushing against the face, and _wow did it feel good _before ending up on the roof of the train compartment. Both the finder, Toma (Allen has already resigned himself to ignoring the glaring hints, and not freak out over everything, lest he throws up on Kanda or something) and Kanda looked at him strangely. Well, Kanda had probably thought that he'll have problems jumping on top of the roof of a train, instead of boarding it normally. Allen knew he did the first time around.

Slipping inside, Allen watched passively as the finder greeted one of the workers who was clearly freaking out, before getting ushered into their train compartment with Kanda.

One long mission briefing later (Allen was horrified to find out that, yes, the mission was _really _the one he had been thinking of), he stretched out his sore legs as he lazed around in the compartment. Allen had finally gotten over the '_it-isn't-possible-I'm-hallucinating' _part, passed the '_it's-all-my-fault' _part, and was now happily swimming in the '_this-time-I-need-to-try-my-best-to-save' _part. Cracking his neck, Allen sat up before doing something that, had he been in the right state of mind, would have probably found to be extremely embarrassing.

Unfortunately, Allen wasn't in the right state of mind. No, he was utterly, completely_, bored._ For the life of him, Allen honestly couldn't remember how he managed to get to every one of his destinations before without catching the boredom disease. Briefly, Allen wondered if his mind was regressing too; surely Allen wouldn't be reduced to such…_childish tendencies…_if he was 16, right? _Right?_

And yes, childish tendencies. Like the one Allen was about to display right now. For we all know the favorite question a child likes to ask on any form of transportation…

"_Kandaaaaaaaa_." _Pause._ "Are we there yet?"

_Double pause._

The sixteen year-old part of Allen died a bit as soon as that question came out his mouth. That part of him also blushed. _Bright _red.

However, instead of aggravating the teen infamously known for his short temper, Allen was surprised to find himself the receiver of a suffering sigh…and a small flick on his forehead.

"Ow!" The younger exorcist rubbed his poor head before glaring harshly (read: pouting cutely) at his companion. His embarrassment promptly gone, Allen growled. "What was that for, stupid Kanda?!"

On the other hand, the addressed teen, Kanda, sighed again. "Beansprout, you _just _asked that question. Not even five minutes ago."

Allen felt his face flame up again and tried sinking lower into his seat. Had it really only been a few minutes? It really seemed longer. Ugh…if it wasn't already embarrassing enough…

Kanda studied his little bean partner. He squinted. "Beansprout?"

Allen jolted, a reply already automatically sprouting (no pun intended) from his lips. "Yes, Bakanda?"

A split second later and Allen regretted his slip of tongue. _Bakanda? _Did he really say Bakanda?

But if the older boy was surprised, he showed no reaction to Allen's new nickname. Perhaps it wasn't as new as Allen thought. Kanda only shook his head as he leaned back, watching Allen intently.

"…Yes?" This time, Allen felt a bit more than annoyed at Kanda's reluctance to speak, especially since he was the one who started the conversation! Immediately, he inwardly chastised himself; he was not as young as they made out him to be. Allen can totally control his mood swings, of _course_ he can.

Especially when he was in front of _Kanda_, of all people. Stupid Kanda who always got on his nerves. If _his _Kanda was there right now, he would have laughed at him by now, at how small he was, before snipping about how Allen really _was _a beansprout now. And then _his _Lavi will laugh with that _once-cold-but-now-steadily-getting-warmer _chuckle and latch himself around Allen's neck, before giving his hair a ruffle. And then sweet, sweet, _Allen's _Lenalee would chastise both older boys about how they were making fun of Allen, before giving in and pinching 12-year old Allen's cheeks as she declared how cute Allen was when he was younger. And then _his _Lavi will laugh again, _his _Lenalee will giggle, and _his _Kanda will look away with a smirk and a fond grin, and…_and_…

"…eansprout! Beansprout!" A shout made their way to Allen's ears and he was literally jerked from his thoughts. Allen looked up dazedly to meet the concerned eyes of his companion. Kanda was standing over him, gripping his shoulders tightly, and Allen could only deduce that it had been him who had shaken him.

"Che, you spaced out there." Kanda said as an explanation. His fingers relaxed before he let go completely and settled back onto his seat.

Allen immediately smiled, even as his heart wrenched. Although he was coping rather well, it was always because he had pushed all thoughts of _his _world to the back of his mind. However, every now and then, Allen could see the small gestures and differences between his world and this one. How similar but…_not…_this world was, and it was tearing Allen apart.

"Sorry, I'm a bit tired. What were you saying?" He asked, his charming smile still in place. Kanda snorted even as his eyes continued to scrutinize him.

"I was asking if you know what to do, tch."

Allen blinked, surprised. Where was _his _Kanda? The one who, _uh_, you know, left most of the explanation to the Finder? Who was this new alien in front of him and where did they take the foul-mouthed Kanda to?

Belatedly realizing that Kanda was waiting for a response (and that he was starting to look worried again…that sentence and Kanda could not compute in Allen's brain!), Allen smiled before slipping into a teasing tone.

"We've already been over everything. Don't tell me you're worried about me, ne?"

Like expected (_thank _you for the small similarities), Kanda immediately turned away, 'che'ing as he did so. Allen whooped inwardly at the now acquired silence, because anymore and he was afraid he'll say something wrong. The act of conversing with Kanda itself was also trying on Allen's soul, because this person wearing his (_fine! _He'll admit it) friend's face was both scary and guilt-wrenching. After all, what right did Allen have to be so carefree, while all his friends were still MIA? Just _what right_?

"…Beansprout."

Blinking out of his dreary thoughts again, Allen turned back to face his partner. "What?"

Kanda pursed his lips as he stared at him, as if debating how to phrase his reply. Finally he sighed before he grabbed Allen's arm and pushing him down so he was lying on two seats. Allen blinked again, flabbergasted. He decided to word his incomprehension.

"…Uhh?"

Kanda huffed, before his voice slipped into a strangely out of character and softer tone. "Che, it's a long ride, Beansprout. Go get some sleep. I'm taking first watch."

Allen blinked again, mystified at the older boy's suggestion. But as a warm weight settled onto him and his eyes began to feel drowsy, Allen decided to comply.

After all, anything was better than drowning in his guilt.

**-(*+*)-**

**Wheeee, and that's all for today! Next chapter we will begin on Allen's mission, and I will hopefully manage to write something remotely like a battle scene. Urk, this chapter too feels a bit slow, but honestly, if it was up to me Allen's already developed a brother/sister complex for every character there is so-/shot Yeah, it's slow because I want you guys to see their relationship build. Mmmhmm. Hopefully next chapter or the ones after that would become more exciting. I've got so much planned after the first mission (actually it was suppose to be for before the mission, but I felt it was too soon) so stay tuned for more! **

**Some of you have stated that you wanted more shortstories. Well, I mostly do them if #1, I am like 500 words short, or #2, every 3 chapters. But yeah, keep throwing in character suggestions and I'll get to them sometime.**

**And really, by now, you should know the drill. More reviews than last chapter = update. So please review, everyone! Bye bye!~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ah, everyone, school has finally finished for me and summer school will be starting soon. I'm back with the newest chapter, yay!**

**3 things, one, this chapter had been very taxing to write. This is my first DGM fic and I'm always not that sure of the personalities of the characters yet. I made everyone slightly OOC since it is an AU, but sometimes I really need help. If you can give me small suggestions about some interactions that could happen between Allen and his 'other' friends, that would be great.**

**Or long story short, please give prompts.**

**2****nd**** thing, the beginning of this chapter follows the manga pretty closely, but it veers off in the middle. Please don't be annoyed.**

**3****rd**** thing, hey guys, my birthday is coming up soon! July 8****th****, haha. Make sure to shower me with love and fanart~/shot**

**Anyhow, thank you to ALL the reviews! Once again, I'll be replying to guest reviews here.**

_Candy Crackpot: Thank you very much! I'm glad you like it~_

_Guest: I'm planning for this story to be pretty long, believe it or not. Dunno how long I can keep it up but it should be a story that's at least 70k to 100k, if all goes well. And thank you! I try my best to keep them IC._

_Guest: Haha, thanks! And I'll try my best with the short stories; prompts are totally welcome!_

_animeotakuFG: Thank you so much! I'm very honored to hear that._

_xlilcupcakes: Thank you so much! It makes me very happy to hear that!_

_D: Thank you, I'll try my best to bring out quality chapters!_

**Anyhow, thanks again for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter~ This chapter almost reaches 4k words, can you believe it?**

**Disclaimer: DGM in no way belongs to me. All characters belong to Hoshino.**

**Enjoy!**

**-(*+*)-**

The pale half-moon crescent smiled down on them as Allen, Kanda and Toma rushed through the cold night air. Allen bit his lip as adrenaline pumped through his veins, desperately trying to remember the details of this particular mission.

―_his first mission yet his hands were already stained with so much blood and pain and oh those poor, poor Finders and so much death―_

Not that he had ever, _ever_ forgotten any of the more glaring facts. It had been his first mission, after all.

The important one where he had first made that promise to Kanda.

The one promise that had became the rule he began to abide by.

The one promise that had shaped his beliefs into what they are today.

Eyes squinting because of the pressure of the air rushing by them, Allen sighed before murmuring softly. "The Ghost of Martel," _Lala, _a small part of his mind voiced, "is only a doll…"

It wasn't a questioning statement to his companion, but more of a reaffirming statement. Nevertheless, Kanda still glanced at him surreptitiously (Allen has caught him glancing back a dozen times already. Sheesh, he wasn't going to drop dead anytime soon because of exhaustion!) before looking back at the road. "It wouldn't be surprising if Innocence was used to create these dolls."

Allen nodded absent-mindedly. He had seen Innocence done weirder things; that was for sure. However, the first time around, this mission had truly been a big eye-opener for the preteen.

Suddenly, Kanda jerked to a stop and Allen immediately followed suit, eyes widening as he felt the killing intent suffocate him. Like the first time, both exorcists immediately began sliding down the cliff they had found themselves on, quickly heading towards the broken city. Allen bit his lip again.

Something felt out of place.

Something felt _wrong. _

He remembered the first time this had happened, and how the slight chill in the air had put him on edge. But this time, the air felt so much worse. It was a harsher chill that froze his limbs and rendered some of them almost numb.

They were immediately greeted with blood soaked earth and twisted, cold bodies. Allen took a deep, steadying breath as the image burned into his retina and stayed there. Kanda swore loudly, giving him one last worried (and really, Allen had used this word because they was literally nothing else that could describe the look in Kanda's eyes) glance before settling into professionalism. He kneeled down beside a dead Finder and clicked his tongue.

"Damn. We tried to get here as soon as we got the transmission, but they're already dead."

Allen took another breath, nodding numbly, the cold chill not the only thing that was now restricting his limbs. Somehow, even though he had gone through this once (and he had down to the very letter. Other than Kanda's rather out-of-character demand for him to sleep, even the conversations were worded exactly as Allen had vaguely remembered them), it had just felt so much worse now that he had known what was coming. A nauseating thought curled around his gut and Allen winced unnoticeably.

Couldn't he have prevented these deaths with his new knowledge?

_Couldn't he have?_

"Hey, Beansprout."

Allen mentally gave himself a shake ―now was _certainly _not the time to be absent-minded― and turned to the older exorcist. His eyes widened.

Kanda stared at him, eyes hard and expression slightly mulish as it was serious. However, what had caught Allen's attention was the lack of the gentle glint that had been present in _this_ Kanda whenever he had looked at Allen.

_No_.

What described Kanda right now was a war-worn veteran. One that would not ―_could not―_ afford to cuddle his subordinate.

Grimly, Allen knew that this was _exactly_ what he needed.

"I'll say this before we start, Beansprout. Our occupation is not for the weak hearted. Don't count on me to come in to save you at any time, and hold your own in battle. Never think of us as partners, and for the sake of the Innocence, be ready to leave anyone behind."

Allen blinked. That had _not _been what Kanda had said to him the first time around, even though it had the same overall meaning. In a way, Kanda's words were almost…an apology? Still, Allen pursed his lips and shook his head, giving Kanda an honest look. "I don't like your way of thinking."

Kanda tensed, looking almost like an older brother seconds away from scolding a misbehaving little sibling, before a house before them _exploded _into flames.

Right on schedule, Allen thought grimly.

_Squelch. _Maniacal laughter drifted through the air, as a pained groan followed weakly. A number of Level 1 _Akuma _appeared behind the smoke and the dust, shooting at what looked like shimmering air in the distance. A grotesque figure wearing a jester's costume stood with hands on his hips and one foot on a dying Finder's head.

_No…_

"Keep shooting!" The figure cried, sounding much more pleased than his words would suggest. "Putting the machine inside with the dolls to seal them…this is gonna take some time."

The Finder, (Allen noted with detached fascination) spit out a current of blood before declaring with the voice of the dead. "We…We won't hand over the Innocence to you, _Akuma_!"

_No…please…_

The jester _Akuma_ laughed and stepped harder, blood spurting out like a fountain. "Just because I'm bored, I'll play with your head." He stated, a cruel, playful lilt at the end of his words.

And then Allen snapped.

―_No please don't stop it stop it stop it stopitstopit stopstopstopstop―_

Dimly, he registered screaming. It was only until he was right in front of the jester _Akuma_, did he realize that the hoarse screaming, barely articulate enough to recognize the words 'Stop it!', was coming from his own throat. And it was only then, cursed-eye activated, did Allen finally get a good look at the _Akuma_.

His throat closed up and he tried resisting the urge to scream louder. The soul…_The soul_…

Instead of the usual chains he saw, they were made out of pasty death-white vines. And the poor, _poor_ soul seemed to be in even _more _agony.

Allen swallowed harshly. There was something wrong with the _Akuma _in this world. Something very, _very_ wrong.

The _Akuma _stopped his desperate attack, his own hand restricting his claw (and in Allen's panic, he never realized that instead of calling _Crown Clown, _he had reverted to his old Innocence because of the familiarity) with a smile. His grating voice turned even more playful. "Who are you?"

And with an explosive yell, the creature kicked Allen away, throwing him into the wall. "WHAT ARE YOU?!"

Allen crashed though several houses, only dimly aware of the pain lacing through his back. He could see a gold blob following him, most likely to be Timcampy, as he was hurtled through the walls with brute force before collapsing under a mountain of rubble.

Pain laced through his body, but Allen grit his teeth and set that problem aside as his claw lifted the rubble off of him and allowed him to stand up. He was visibly scratched and his condition was truthfully not that good (what the hell happened to his _stamina_? Allen was already breathing hard; was it because he was just out of his coma or did his age have more setbacks than those pitying stares?). But all he could think about was the blood drenched ground.

"You were the one who killed the Finders…" He whispered softly as he stood up. If he remembered right, the Level 2 _Akuma _would go after him, which gives Kanda the opportunity to help those in the barrier. And right he was as the _Akuma _drifted closer happily.

The jester grinned cruelly. "Can you hear it? The sound of my heart…I'm getting excited!"

Allen fell into a defensive stance, debating whether he should go with _Crown Clown _after all. But no, if he remembered correctly, this _Akuma _had the ability to copy abilities. _Crown Clown _was much more fearsome and harder to defeat than his claw form of his Innocence, and if anything, Allen would rather go against that.

Sure enough, Allen could see Kanda from the corner of his eye, calling up _First Illusion _to defeat the Level 1s (although he was rather late; Allen briefly wondered if the now worrywart Kanda had been debating whether to secure the Innocence or to secure _him_). Before the _Akuma _could decide to stop him, Kanda already deactivated the shields protecting the dolls and picked them up, jumping to the roof of another house. He turned back to them, face cold and emotionless yet eyes clearly conflicted.

"Beansprout―"

Allen cut him off, hefting his Innocence up to distract the jester from moving. "You go on, baKanda. It was my fault that I acted on my emotions, and you have the Innocence so there's no need for me to worry. I'll destroy this _Akuma _and catch up."

Kanda gave him another worried stare before scowling. Within a second, he was already off. Allen sighed before turning to the _Akuma _and rushing him. Pure adrenaline rushed through his body as he executed flips and slashes, landing blow after blow.

Allen remembered what had happened the first time, where Kanda was injured so heavily. He couldn't ―no, _wouldn't_― let that happen again. Not on his watch. With his future knowledge, he would never be able to get rid of the guilt if he let the older exorcist get hurt again.

Dispatching the fake _Akuma, _Allen turned around just in time to prevent being skewered from his mirror self. He immediately backed up to calmly observe the new opponent before him. The _Akuma _grinned.

"Lucky boy. To be able to escape that. I copied your abilities; I'm at Level 2, unlike those ball-like _Akuma _subordinates I had."

And with that, like the first time it happened, the _Akuma's _claw stretched out like a whip. Allen narrowed his eyes, calm and ready as he dodged the first attempt to send him flying. Unlike the first time in _his_ world, he was neither surprised nor hurt. An _Akuma _of this level was not enough to hurt him that drastically, no matter if he was a little bit different.

Allen eyed the white vines and the crying soul. In any case, he needed to save it, no matter what.

The boy straightened up and took a deep breath. _Cross Grave, _as useful as the ability was for killing multiple enemies, it was not as strong and was usually used for hordes of pesky Level 1s.

He needed _Crown Clown. _There were no other choices.

Allen mentally assessed the copy of himself. If he was quick, if he gave no time for the _Akuma _to copy _Crown Clown_…It could work. The plan was risky at best and plain suicidal at worst, but it could work.

No, Allen amended ruefully. It _had _towork.

Decision made, he relaxed his body and closed his eyes, before feeling his Innocence arm pulse twice. Within seconds, the white-haired child felt the trusty feel of _Crown Clown _settle around him in a protective manner.

"W-What?!" The _Akuma _yelled, ugly eyes bulging out in surprise at the switch Allen made so late into their game.

The boy smiled again and sent up a small prayer of thanks, that the rather smart _Akuma _was too shocked to even think about copying _Crown Clown. _Within another few, precious seconds, Allen had pulled his sword made out of his Innocence right from his shoulder socket and rushed the _Akuma. _And in another second in which the _Akuma _tried a last minute ditch-attempt to save itself, Allen thrust his sword into the creature, cutting it in halves. Allen watched it explode before it began to fade away, sighing lightly as his legs and arms were still trembling from the adrenaline. Giving himself a few more seconds to calm his heartbeat, the white-haired child stood up and moved to find Kanda, Toma, Lala and Guzoru.

After a joyful (and much needed, because if anything, it seemed as his ability to get lost increased since he turned into a child) reunion with Timcampy, Allen followed the golden blur as it led him deeper and deeper down into the broken city. It wasn't long before he could see the huddled forms of Guzoru and Lala, and the tense, taut form of a certain samurai-wannabe.

Said wannabe immediately relaxed as he caught sight of Timcampy and Allen, before rushing forward to meet them (again, Allen had to take a second to blink himself out of his awe. Because when did _Kanda _of all people rushed forward to him because of _worry?_). "Beansprout!"

The older teen stopped before the boy and gave him a quick once-over, eyes lingering on the many scratches Allen had accumulated during his fight. Allen chuckled inwardly; who would have thought that Kanda Yuu was such a _mother hen_? Certainly not Allen, that was for sure.

Apparently satisfied that there were no life-threatening injuries, Kanda grunted before looking away. "…Che, took you long enough."

Allen smiled at the obvious concern and nodded sheepishly, before directing his attention to the male (this time not dying yet, Allen realized with a hopeful start at the lack of bloody coughs) and the doll. "What now?" He asked the more experienced exorcist.

Kanda grunted softly before turning his gaze to Guzoru and Lala once more. "We need your heart." He stated bluntly. Lala gasped and edged towards Guzoru protectively as the older male hugged her (it?). Allen felt his _own _heart clench.

"Kanda…" The boy began hesitantly, "Do we have to take the Innocence right now?"

―_he remembered the first time, the broken promises, the mournful singing singing singing three days three days three whole days and then the smile and―_

"Yes." The long haired teen replied curtly. "Bringing the doll home in that condition is much too risky."

Lala whimpered and pressed her head closer to Guzoru's shoulder. "No, no, please," She said brokenly, "Lala is Guzoru's doll. Lala wants to stay with Guzoru."

Allen clenched his hands into shaking fists. After everything, all his knowledge of the future, and he couldn't change _anything―_

And then the whole world exploded into a painful pure white. Beyond the rush of blindness, Allen could dimly hear a frantic cry from Kanda and the screams (still melodious, Allen noted ruefully) of Lala. And then everything cleared and Allen found himself staring into…

The eyes of the soul of the Level 2 _Akuma. _

What.

_What?_

"…W-What…?" Allen murmured softly, blood dripping from his lips to stain the floor. The soul, and it was then that Allen realized that the soul was still covered in those white vines, smiled at him humorlessly. With slightly awed eyes, Allen watched as the vines on the soul began to produce buds, which in turn bloomed into deathly white roses.

Suddenly, a horde of Kanda's _Hell Insects _pushed the soul off of Allen. The maker of said insects was at his side, wide eyes checking him over. "Beansprout! Why didn't you kill the soul?!"

Allen's own eyes widened at the statement, because, _kill _the soul? Wasn't he there to _save _them? Kanda swore at he realized that his _Insects _were no longer around to keep the soul busy, and suddenly Allen had déjà vu.

_Akuma._

_Lala._

_Lala's Heart._

With a final burst of adrenaline, Allen pushed himself up and swatting Kanda's hands away, he jumped in front of Lala and Guzoru.

Right in time to have a white sword covered with the scent of rotting flesh and white roses impale him in the stomach.

"ALLEN!"

This time, Allen dimly realized that the screaming in his ears was not his own. And then his vision finally turned blissfully black.

**-(*+*)-**

The first thing Allen registered was the sound of slow beeping. He was lying on something soft, and surprise surprise, nothing hurt.

Which was odd, because Allen vaguely remembered being impaled by a white rose…

And with a rush, all his memories suddenly jammed itself back in Allen's brain. Which of course resulted in Allen snapping his eyes open and almost jumping off the bed.

"Beansprout!"

Blinking slowly, Allen turned around to see the clearly relieved face of Kanda. Another quick glance told him that he was no longer in that hidden city in Italy, but in a hospital. Or, more accurately, The Order's hospital.

Allen blinked, clearly overwhelmed. He turned back to the older exorcist who was sitting in a chair beside his bedside (imagine _that._ Allen wouldn't have been able to if it wasn't right in front of his eyes.Because we're talking about _Kanda_) and opened his mouth to question him, when the door to the room burst open and a certain girl-like doll rushed in. Allen stared open-mouthed at Lala (_why hadn't Kanda taken her heart yet…?_) as she stared back at him with relief. Guzoru followed right after, although his head was still covered with his hood.

Let Allen rephrase that. His head was still covered by his hood…a custom part Allen had himself that Johnny had added onto the Exorcist jacket. Needless to say, Lala was also wearing the Exorcist jacket.

Allen was a bit confused.

…Okay, Allen was totally out of his league here. It was fortunate that Komui was the next person who stepped in the room, looking relieved that Allen was awake.

"Allen. Thank goodness. How do you feel?" The Chief asked kindly, eyes tracking every action the boy made.

Allen nodded, mind still spinning. "Fine…but what happened?"

Komui blinked, looking to Kanda before starting his explanation. "By the time Kanda destroyed the soul, you were already dying. Luckily, Guzoru resounded with Lala's Innocence. As a non-offensive exorcist, his ability through Lala was to heal wounds."

Kanda took over. "Since he could wield Innocence, we decided to leave the doll as she is if they became exorcists."

Allen blinked, astounded. Well, that clearly explained why he didn't have a gaping hole in his stomach, that was for sure. And also why both Lala and Guzoru were wearing the Exorcists' jacket.

A shuffle caught Allen's eyes and he watched with confusion as Lala came forward and grabbed his hands and brought them to her cheek. Nuzzling it softly once, she ignored Allen's stupefied expression and began to talk. "We're so sorry for your injury, and we're so thankful for you protecting us."

Allen blinked, before breaking out into a small smile as his cheeks flushed a soft pink. It seemed that this time, he had been able to do some good for once.

"Thank you for healing me."

Komui nodded at the exchange before pushing the doll and her most loved human towards the door. "You guys can exchange small talk later. Guzoru needs to get some food and Lala, you need to get checked over by the science department."

Both newly admitted exorcists nodded before departing together. Komui sighed softly before turning back to Allen and pushing him back to the bed. Allen pouted and Kanda smirked at his displeasure. Komui sighed again.

"Allen, you need to get more rest. We don't know fully how Guzoru's ability works so it's better to be safe than sorry."

Allen pouted again before settling down, feeling light for the first time since he came to this new world. Because no matter his hesitations, the boy managed to save the first precious people he had once let die, back in his own world. It was surreal and for the first time, Allen wondered if this was a second chance given to him to make things right.

His breathing evened out slightly as he started to drift asleep, content and relaxed for once. However, all thoughts of sleep were thrown out the window when he became aware of 2 familiar auras. Immediately, Allen jerked up with a gasp, ignoring Komui's jump and Kanda's searching eyes.

Nonono_nononono_, it was impossible. However, it wasn't the first time _they _had gotten past the barriers and the defenses The Order had sported. He trembled as the sight of blood-drenched earth once again flitted into his mind, knowing that the lovely Order would become ―_or already is_― like that.

Dimly, Allen realized that his breaths were getting shorter and shorter and that he was way past hyperventilating. Frantic hands patted his chest, urging him―

"_Beansprout! Allen! Just take a breath. Breathe!"_

―but Allen couldn't do anything as he stared at the door, his agitation rising even more.

And then the door opened, and a certain girl with spiky hair and another older male in his 20s strolled in. "Allen!~" She giggles gleefully. " I can't believe you woke up!" The girl squealed again as she rushed towards him―

―_she did it before and then Allen ended up with a painful candle stabbing his cursed eye―_

―the male was smirking, hands flipping a joker card and shuffling his deck, although his smile fell slightly short at the sight of the terrified Allen. He blinked, looking increasingly confused before he began to step forward―

―_he remembered the purple flesh-eating butterflies and that hand that went through his chest and poked that hole in his heart and it had hurthurthurt―_

Allen screamed in fear at the sight of Road Camelot and Tyki Mikk, screaming as hands reached to grab him. He was guiltily relieved as blackness claimed his vision once more, even though he knew that the Order would have a hard time fighting the Noahs without him.

And for the second time, Allen blacked out again.

**-(*+*)-**

**Ehehehe, that's it! Wow, I'm slightly surprised that I got through Lala's mission in one chapter. Anyhow, like always, please leave your reviews on your wait out! More reviews = updates~ See you later guys! Bye~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ah! Hi guys! I'm sorry for the wait, a combination of school and then Hoshino's update (which had stomped all over my plans) made writing this very hard.**

**For all guest reviewers, thanks for reviewing!**

**Please enjoy!**

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**Disclaimer: Do not own this.**

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**Beta'd by: the fantastic Midnight Phantasma**

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_… B…p …._

_He had, once again, returned to his dreamscape._

_Allen blinked. He could've sworn that the giant moon, pale and shimmering with eeriness, had blinked back. The pale-haired boy didn't stop to think about the absurdity of that statement as he studied the pools of water, all displaying a reflection of himself, along with the enormous, crescent moon._

_… Be..p …_

_Crown Clown's white and soft tendrils whipped around him in slight distress. Despite the familiarity and the reassuring aura of his dear Innocence, Allen felt himself grow cold as he froze, feeling frightened._

_He shivered. It was cold._

_… Huh? Why was it cold? Can you even be _cold_ in a dream?_

_… Beep―_

_'Allen?'_

_Said boy jerked his head up at the mention of his own name. That was new. Nobody had ever spoken to him within his dreams. Nobody… That struck a chord. Where the heck was Neah?_

_―Beep…beep―_

_'No, no, you silly boy.' The voiced chuckled, an awful imitation of Mana's own hearty laughs. Great, Allen felt sick now too. 'Look down.'_

_―Beep-beep-beep―_

_With a cold weight settling within his heart, Allen did as told. And just like when he'd initially had this dream, drops of red, red blood lay splattered at his feet._

_―Beepbeepbeep_beepbeepBEEPBEEP―

_But unlike the first time, when he'd been too distressed to move, this time, he jerked his head back from the shock of crimson red._

_Just in time to be rewarded with the image of a trail of bloody footprints―_

―BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP―

Allen abruptly jerked up with his heart thundering painfully in his cold chest.

A few milliseconds later and Allen realized that no, it wasn't his heart thundering loudly and annoyingly, it was the heart monitor hooked up to him (though technically, Allen supposed that it meant his heart was running a marathon too). Additionally, his chest ached painfully because somewhere along the way, it appeared he'd forgotten how to breathe.

Oh. Uh…

The white-haired child took in a deep breath to remedy that. The pain lessoned. The cold didn't.

Unfortunately, the bothersome beeping hadn't stopped either. With what seemed to be the beginnings of a lovely headache, Allen made up his mind and reached over to pull off the cords attached to his wrist.

_That_ resulted in the sound of the heart monitor going flat.

… And a suddenly frantic Head Nurse bursting into his room. Allen winced. Perhaps that wasn't the smartest idea. Whoops?

"Allen!"

His group of friends also piled into his room, looking at the heart monitor in fear before realizing that the white-haired child was not dead. Both Cross and Komui followed in, the former looking agitated while the latter looked uncomfortable. The young bedridden exorcist gave them all a sheepish smile.

"Um, hi guys," Allen greeted, trying to ignore the glaring from the Head Nurse―fortunately, she decided to hold off her lecturing until the others left. "What are you doing here?"

"You―"

"_Damn_―"

Both Kanda and Cross were cut off with ("Manly!" they insisted) yelps as Lenalee gave each man/boy a vicious stomp on their toes. Once she had made sure that both idiots were successfully silenced, the girl turned back to Allen with a gentle smile on her face.

… Allen briefly wondered if all those years with Komui had turned Lenalee slightly bipolar (or maybe she was on her time of the month).

"Allen," the girl began with a worried gaze, "You had a panic attack before you fainted. Do you remember what happened?"

Allen frowned. Panic attack? His brow furrowed as he thought back, shifting through his jumbled memories.

Mission with Kanda.

Finding Lala and his precious friend.

Getting impaled by white roses.

Waking up.

Seeing the Noah―

_Seeing the Noah._

… Oh. My. God.

Lenalee frowned as she watched her friend suddenly tense up. Allen shook, guilt and confusion swirling together to make him feel extremely…something. To be honest, the white-haired boy didn't really know what he felt anymore.

"I," Allen took a deep breath, not sure if he should apologize first for leaving them at such a crucial time. But…he had to know…

"I…Who…Who died?"

In Allen's defense, it was a legitimate concern. After all, from past experiences, any attack on Headquarters had resulted in the death of many Finders and scientists, and sometimes even Exorcists! And that was excluding the prowess of Noah, who in Allen's opinion, were worst than any Level 4 Akuma.

Before, all the deaths had weighed heavily on Allen's heart, despite the fact that not all, or if any, were his fault. This time, however. This time, at least half would be a black stain on his soul. After all, this time Allen did not help fight. And he had known that even the absence of one Exorcist could be deadly.

Every one surrounding him appeared shocked by Allen's question. Allen felt his heart leap to his throat. Was it really that bad? Did they think that he couldn't take the news? Before Allen could ask again―

_―oh no had it been someone I loved why won't they tell me why―_

―Cross stood up and glared at him. Allen blinked.

"You Idiot Apprentice!" the man roared, despite Lenalee's disproving looks. Allen stared with bulging eyes. "The only person who has been close to death is _you_!"

If it were even possible, Allen's eyes widened even more. "Huh?" Had Road and Tyki targeted him only? "B-But, what about the Noah?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Immediately, every one frowned, suddenly looking even more worried than before.

"What about Road and Tyki?" Cross asked, sounding vaguely suspicious despite his worried undertone. Kanda's eyes narrowed as Lavi's single eye studied Allen carefully. Lenalee gnawed on her lower lip anxiously.

Allen blinked, feeling like he was missing something pretty important. The General did _not_ just ask him that. After all, he was sure he did not dream up the Noah when they came in after he'd woken up. There were more inconsistencies between this world and his own than he had originally thought.

"I-I…" he stuttered, before Allen decided to go with the safest route. Clearly there was a story behind this, and unfortunately, this Allen, old, teenager Allen, was not privy to the information.

"I don't know."

.

.

.

"_What_?!"

Allen pressed himself against the wall, looking increasingly scared. The scene reminded everyone grimly of the day Allen had first woken up.

"I don't remember," Allen elaborated slightly, gazing around in confusion and slight fear.

Lenalee choked down a sob and prayed for a steady voice. When she was sure it wouldn't break, she took a deep breath to pose her question. "What _do_ you remember, Allen?"

They had been too careless. Too happy at the fact that Allen was just _awake_. They hadn't really thought about what to do beyond that.

Allen examined them, taking his turn to study everyone in the room. "Lenalee, Lavi, and Kanda are my precious friends. Master Cross was my Master. Komui is Lenalee's brother. The Noah…use Dark Matter as opposed to our Innocence?"

Allen was right. All his facts were right. But _wrong_ as well. Lenalee turned around to bury her face into her shaking brother's chest. Both Kanda and Lavi clenched their hands into fists.

"Brat," Cross started, and nobody in the room could fault the man for sounding so weary. "The Noah have been our allies for years now. You of all people should know why."

Allen felt his mouth fall open. The thought was too good to be true.

_―he had always mourned the fact that they could have all been friends, friends and companions and maybe even lovers, had they been born in a different life―_

"That's enough." The Head Nurse came over, pitting her own glare against Cross' (the most amazing thing was the fact that she was _winning_). "My patient needs his rest; anything else can wait until after he takes a nap."

Allen opened his mouth to protest, but felt himself yawn. That resolved it for everyone else, because with somber expressions and a few soft head pats (as if Allen would break at the slightest touch), the white-haired boy was left alone in his room.

The boy studied the ceiling, feeling his eyelids grow heavy. Everything sounded too good to be true, but, well…

That just about summed up his whole experience here in this new world, right?

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"…Allen?"

The hushed voice ―_no, no, wrong, wrong, she was never supposed to sound like _this― startled Allen into the land of the living. Turning his head slightly as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, Allen was surprised to meet two pairs of glowing, amber eyes.

…Okay, sure, Allen was still a bit apprehensive, despite what Cross had told him. But if his friends, the _Order_, did not care about the Noah (and how absurd was _that_?) then Allen shouldn't really have to worry about them, right? Plus, even in the other world, both Road and Tyki had helped him as much as they'd tried to kill him.

In fact, he really didn't know why he had been startled enough to faint. Perhaps he had been more shaken by his experiences in this new world than he had originally thought?

"…Road. Tyki." Allen greeted, sitting up slightly despite his protesting muscles. He kept a careful eye on the two Noah, as they had both remained standing halfway into the shadows.

Silence.

Road was fidgeting uncharacteristically and Tyki appeared content to allow the younger (or older, depending on your perspective) Noah do the talking. Finally, after rocking on the balls of her feet, the girl blurted out her thoughts.

"We're not supposed to be here, until they tell you about us." Road clenched her fists in the fabric of her dress, showing exactly what she had thought about that rule.

"Oh." Allen frowned. Had they been close? Though he _had_ once wished that they could have all been friends…

The girl began fidgeting again, even as Tyki's hand instinctively groped for a cigarette―unfortunately for him, he could not smoke (at least not in the room, if the glare of the nurse was anything to go by).

"… It's fine. I promise I won't do something that drastic again," the boy added, cheeks warming at the thought of his dead faint. Come to think of it, that had been quite embarrassing.

Road glanced at him again, as if she was searching his expression, before she beamed and bounced over with a giggle. Tyki's shoulders relaxed and he followed after her at a more sedate pace. Allen was surprised to briefly see the relief shining in both of their eyes, before Road threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.

So they _were_ close."I'm sorry for forgetting," he said softly, feeling somewhat guilty. Allen would have felt awful if one of his friends had suddenly forgotten about him, before fainting on him.

Road stiffened and then pulled back, her smile now stretched out painfully wide. She made no move to respond. This time it was Tyki who spoke up. "Cheater Boy, you can't be sorry for something you had no control over."

Well, that was true. But still…

"I'm still sorry to make you upset, unintentional or not," Allen said quite resolutely, giving the older-looking Noah a small glare. Tyki seemed surprised, before he released a short bark of laughter.

Immediately, the door opened as everybody piled in again. Komui gave the two Noah a pointed look, though he seemed to be glad that Allen wasn't frightened again.

"Ehhh, don't _look_ at me like that!" Road whined. Allen was a bit glad that she seemed to be reverting back to normal. "I wanted to see Allen too! Anyway, Tyki let me come!"

The glare moved solely onto Tyki. He held up his hands as if in surrender. "I came to minimize the casualties."

Komui sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. "As long as Allen's fine with it."

That brought everyone's attention back to the white-haired boy. Cross fixed Allen with a steady glare. "Okay, Brat, spill. What else do you remember?"

And so Allen divulged what he knew about each person. It wasn't much, per say, but considering the fact that Allen still didn't know if his memories of his adventures were accurate or not, he figured it might not been a good idea to tell them everything.

Anyway, with the Lala incident, it was starting to appear that some of those events might not have happened yet.

After Allen drew to a close, the room was plunged into a thoughtful silence. It was only broken by the sound of a stomach grumbling. The white-haired boy frowned in embarrassment.

"Umm…" Allen piped up. "How long have I been here?"

Cross let out a surprised grunt of laughter. "Too long, it seems." Throwing a pile of clothes to the sheepish boy, Cross stood up. "Get dressed, Stupid Brat. You're cleared to go."

Allen beamed. _Finally_!

Dressing hurriedly, Allen rushed outside to find everyone waiting for him. Tyki was talking to both Cross and Komui in hushed tones while Road had preoccupied herself with pulling Kanda's long hair.

A warm feeling appeared in Allen's chest. Perhaps this, time-traveling/dimension-jumping thing, was really just a second chance.

So it was with high spirits that Allen and his precious people walked towards the cafeteria.

Andddd the high spirits disappeared completely when Allen almost tripped over a collapsed Reever.

Uh. Um.

… Huh. This had felt oddly familiar, in a despairing kind of way.

"… What?" Allen asked as he tried to steady himself after stumbling. Lenalee gasped as she dropped to her knees beside the downed scientist, shaking his shoulder urgently.

Said scientist twitched slightly before coughing. Reever opened his eyes, before quaking with fear.

"R-Run …" Reever said with a gasp. "… Komurin is coming."

Allen froze. No, no way…

… When Allen said that this was like a second chance, he didn't mean he wanted a second chance, for, well, everything! Giant robots wanting to 'fix' (read: kill) him were definitely not on the list!

"What?" Road asked, seeming quite curious.

**_BAM_!**

Something crashed into the wall. Everyone turned to it with wide eyes as they watched a giant robot emerge from the rubble.

"It's here…" Reever whimpered with despair. Allen did too, resigned to his fate.

Lavi gaped. "W-What is that?"

Lenalee groaned. "Oh brother…"

The robot turned to face their group. "Allen Walker. Lenalee Lee. Lavi Bookman. Kanda Yuu. Cross Marian. Five Exorcists…Located!"

The robot started to move towards them. "… It's time for SURGERY!"

Everyone paled. Lenalee grabbed Reever and activated her boots, taking the lead with everyone following her in a mad dash. "BROTHER! STOP MAKING ROBOTS THAT ARE OUT OF CONTROL!"

Komui cried crocodile tears. "It only shows my love for you, my dear Lenalee!"

Lenalee sighed. "Big brother…"

"Plus," Komui added as he jumped over a stray rock, "It's the coffee that's evil! Hate the crime, not the person! Hate the coffee, not my precious Komurin!"

Lenalee slammed her free hand, the one that wasn't dragging poor Reever along, into her face. "Can you please be ashamed of yourself? _Please_?"

Allen flailed a bit as he vaulted over a huge boulder. "Um guys? Shouldn't we just destroy the robot instead of running?"

Ignoring Komui's shrieks at Allen's question, Cross blinked. "Huh, that's true." He turned around and fired a shot at Komurin.

Unsurprisingly (at least to Allen, who had already seen the horrors of Komui's robot), Komurin deflected the shot.

And unfortunately, it hit the side of a wall which came crashing down in front of Allen, who had lagged behind to be the last person of the group.

"Whoa!" Allen cried, skidding to an abrupt stop. It was his fatal mistake. Komurin grabbed the boy and pulled him into the air, kicking and screaming.

"_Shit_, Beansprout!"

"Oh no, Shortstack!"

Kanda whipped around with Lavi doing the same, eyes wide as a giant robot held their friend. Around them, everyone paused in horror as they watched Komurin stop.

"Computing…computing…Allen Walker is a beansprout?" The robot ignored Allen as he flailed in the air, simultaneously defending itself from the attacks of Crown Belt.

Let's repeat that once more. It could defend itself from Crown Belt.

… Allen vowed to never let a Komurin get into the hands of the Earl. Imagine the destruction! On the other hand, in this world, perhaps the Earl is on their side as well? If the Noah were …

"Komurin has tried coffee, but has not tried a beansprout." Allen froze at the implication of the words. Wait, wait, _wait_. This did _not_ happen the first time around. No, Komurin couldn't want to―

"BON APETIT!" The giant robot brought Allen closer to what seemed like its stomach.

Allen screamed, breaking the horrified silence. What kind of mad scientist builds a robot that likes trying to _eat_? (Komui sneezed.) And no, that was a rhetorical question, don't answer it!

On the other hand, a lot of other people screamed too. People like Road.

"KEEP YOUR FILTHY ROBOTIC HANDS AWAY FROM MY ALLEN!" Road viciously whipped some candles at the robot, in hopes of it dropping its charge.

Lenalee, the other very mad female of the group, followed Road's lead as she threw Reever ("Hey!" "OOF!") at Lavi before aiming a flying kick at Komurin's head.

"No! My dear Lenalee! Don't hurt my Komurin!" Komui cried in the background. Everyone twitched.

Reever, being the voice of reason of the group, crawled over (after untangling himself from Lavi) to give his superior a nice _thwack_ on the head.

Between the combined forces of the enraged girls, Komurin was very soon beat into a pulp. Allen was also brought back, safe and sound and no less traumatized than the first time this had happened.

Lavi, standing beside the male Noah, winced at the damage caused. "Girls and robots are scary."

Tyki wholeheartedly agreed.

And so, after being fretted over by his older friends, Allen finally got to order his food. Lenalee also managed to get a promise from her brother that no, he would not build any more crazy robots. All in all, Allen figured that the day had ended quite nicely.

Road's soft humming as she sat close to him and the sound of Tyki shuffling his deck of cards were just the icing on the cupcake.

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**Thank you for reading and don't forget to leave a review on your way out!**


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